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Motorola Nexus 6: one of the best Android smartphones



Nexus devices have always stood out from the general mass of Android smartphones at fairly low prices and characteristics comparable to more expensive flagship devices. Naturally, this approach attracts many buyers. Another advantage of the Nexus line is the highest software update speed. Despite a number of incidents with not very good build quality, the Nexus line has gained a reputation as a kind of benchmark for Android devices. About one of the representatives of this line, Motorola Nexus 6, we want to tell here.



Despite leaving almost all national markets, Motorola has released some interesting gadgets in recent years. Smartphone Nexus 6 was quite favorably received by customers due to the high build quality and equally high performance. Alas, it affected the price of the device: in the US, a smartphone costs from $ 650, while the Nexus 4 was sold for $ 300, and the Nexus 5 - $ 350.
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Specifications





Design and ergonomics


Since Motorola had a hand in the creation of the Nexus 6, it is quite expected that it turned out to be similar to the 2014 Moto X model. It is also the largest smartphone ever released in the Nexus line. So, if you decide to purchase it, we recommend that you first hold it in your hands and make sure that it is not too wide and thick for you.

The main competitors of Nexus 6 are Lenovo Z2 Pro, Huawei Mate 7, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus.





The smartphone comes in one of two colors - white or dark blue. The back cover is made of plastic, aluminum edging. Despite the fact that the surface is matte, fingerprints remain immediately on it. As already mentioned above, the assembly is very good, no backlash or creaking.



Pay attention to the convex shape of the back cover of the smartphone. Thanks to this trick, developers managed to make not so noticeable a large thickness of the device - 10.1 mm. Along the edges of the Nexus 6 is two times thinner than in the middle. It also benefited the ergonomics of the smartphone: the device is more comfortable in the hand, especially if you have a palm of medium or large size.



But, in any case, this is a great smartphone, and if you have not had the experience of prolonged use of devices of this size, you will first have to get used to it. The concept of "average smartphone" rather quickly transformed in terms of the physical size of the devices. Nexus 6 does not yet belong to the middle, but not so far away from them.



According to the manufacturer, the smartphone has a "spray protection". However, this is not at all tantamount to dust and moisture protection, so be careful - the device is not designed to be heated.



On the top and bottom of the display are decorative, slightly protruding "plugs" of the speakers. The top speaker is part-time conversational. The power button and rocking volume control are on the right side of the smartphone, pressing clear, convenient to use the buttons.



The audio jack and the nanoSIM tray are located on the top.



Screen


Today, top-end smartphones on the diagonal of the display are already close to 6 inches. And if in past years such an idea smelled like a commercial failure, today big smartphones show steady growth in sales. And this despite the criticism and numerous statements about the inconvenience of using one-handed.



Nexus 6 is much more than any of the previous models of Nexus-smartphones. The resolution of its display is 1440x2560 with a diagonal of 5.96 inches. Accordingly, the density of points is very high - 493 dpi. The display shows excellent contrast, brightness and wide viewing angles, which is typical of AMOLED technology.



The main difference between AMOLED and Super AMOLED is the presence of a sensor film embedded in the upper layer of the display. In the Nexus 6, it is located on top of the display.

As we have repeatedly written, the feature of AMOLED technology is dynamic brightness. If white color is occupied by a small proportion of the screen, then the brightness of the image is much higher than with full white fill. In this case, at 100% white, the brightness was 262 cd / m2, at 50% - 370 cd / m2, and at 25% - 405 cd / m2. However, the Nexus 6 was a very large amplitude of brightness fluctuations - approximately 54%. This may adversely affect the subjective perception compared to competitors. In such cases, it is very important which image is displayed on the compared devices.
The contrast is very high, in the dark black color is almost invisible. In bright light, the image also looks very decent.



From the point of view of hardware measurements, the Nexus 6 gamma is not the best. In reality, it lies in a more than acceptable range of 2.2-2.4. The image shows good depth, without dips in the shadows and highlights.



The average color temperature is about 6500 K.



The color balance is quite even, although again with a reservation. Due to the strong difference in brightness of the image, the color range may also fluctuate, as a result, different colors may appear in different images.



However, this situation is mitigated by the average Delta E error on the gray scale not higher than 3.5.



The color gamut of the display Nexus 6 significantly exceeds sRGB. Alas, this device is characterized by a very common phenomenon of color overload of the image today. The manufacturer has not provided color profiles.



As you can see, glut in the red part of the range occurs especially quickly.



When evaluating the color rendition on 24 ColorChecker templates, the average Delta E error was 4.02. And in some colors the error reaches 5. However, this is not the worst situation considering the very wide color coverage.

In general, the color reproduction of the display can be described as quite acceptable, although the result is somewhat worse than that of Samsung and Nokia smartphones with AMOLED displays. But the difference is not critical.

Performance


In terms of performance, the Nexus 6 is one of the best smartphones available today. Pledged reserves of power will allow him to remain relevant for more than one year. The processor used here is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, running at 2.6 GHz. The 3 GB RAM and Adreno 420 graphics chip make it easy to cope with any applications and computational tasks. The amount of internal memory is 32 or 64 GB, there is no slot for an expansion card, the USB-OTG mode is not supported.

















Nexus 6 works in networks GSM / EDGE / UMTS / LTE, and also supports all necessary standards of a wireless communication: Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC. Of course, the device works with GPS and GLONASS systems.

Interface


The operating system is installed Android Lollipop. We do not have the slightest criticism of the smartphone, everything works like a Swiss watch, a very fast interface response to user actions. Many components of the interface are improved, especially the notification menu in the drop-down panel. All active applications are presented in the form of multi-colored bookmarks in the task manager, it is very convenient and simple to switch from one to another.





Below, you can tell the difference between the Android 4 and 5 interfaces. Lollipop brought with it a new design philosophy - Material Design. It is characterized, among other things, by the use of elements of bright, contrasting colors.





This is Android KitKat. As you can see, the control logic remains the same, but the approach to design has undergone significant changes.



Pay attention to the Wi-Fi reception level icons and system buttons:


KitKat.


Lollipop.

But the desktop has changed slightly. In particular, the search bar has become opaque. The folders on the desktop reduced the translucency, and the application icons in a closed folder as if standing one after another.

KitKat:



Lollipop:



One of the most important tools in Android is the drop-down notification bar. In the new version of the OS, the desktop is slightly darkened when the panel is pulled out, and the notifications themselves seem to hang over it. The ways of calling the settings panel are the same: either swipe with two fingers from top to bottom, or by clicking on the icons in the upper right corner.

KitKat:



Lollipop:



Notifications are now also displayed on the lock screen. From there you can activate the camera by stretching the application to full screen. To do this, you need to drag the camera icon. In the previous version of Android, the effect was as if you were dragging an already open application window onto the screen.

KitKat:



Lollipop:



Google Now, the changes are almost not affected. The most noticeable is that the microphone icon has been redrawn, and a button to open the settings panel has appeared in the search panel.

KitKat:



Lollipop:



Please note that in Lollipop there are almost no object shadows and gradient backgrounds.

KitKat:



Lollipop:



Running applications in the task manager are presented in the form of cards arranged one after another. True, it is not very convenient when the processes of pieces 10-15. From the volume slider, you can now immediately turn on silent mode or leave notifications only for important events.

KitKat:



Lollipop:



KitKat:





Lollipop:





KitKat:





Lollipop:





Also, the keyboard has changed dramatically, although the developers have left the opportunity to return to the old design. A keyboard icon appeared on the system buttons panel; clicking on it duplicates the function of changing the input method, the analogue of a long press on the spacebar.



As you can see, the interface of the operating system has changed significantly, but the layout of the elements and the logic remained almost the same. From this point of view, the changes are small, while they made the system even more convenient for users.

Unfortunately, applications developed for previous versions of Android cannot boast the attractiveness of interface elements, especially with regard to the style of HoloUI. So let's hope that most developers will quickly update their creations taking into account the Material Design style.











Cameras


The front camera has a resolution of 2 MP, and there is nothing special to say about it. The main camera has a matrix of 13 MP and is equipped with an optical stabilization system. Around the lens made ring flash on two LEDs.



Significantly improved the quality of photos when shooting in HDR + mode. Focusing is much faster than on the Nexus 5, as is the preservation of images. During the day, the quality of photos turns out to be quite good, however, in case of insufficient illumination, strong noises emerge and the detailing deteriorates.



























The camera can record video at resolutions up to 4K. There is no slow motion mode, the sound is recorded in mono.

Media


The sound is played very loudly - all thanks to two front speakers. The quality of music playback when headphones are connected is good, although not outstanding. Some lack the detail in low frequencies and vocals. However, for the vast majority of users there will be no deficiencies in sound quality.

There is no FM radio in Nexus 6, and to watch the video we recommend downloading the player better to avoid problems with codecs.



Working hours


The battery is non-replaceable, with a capacity of 3220 mAh. At the maximum screen brightness, the smartphone played FullHD video for 11 hours. On average, the charge lasts for a whole day with 3-4 hours of active use of the screen. There are still ways to optimize energy consumption.





The smartphone is compatible with Qi wireless charging standard. The included TurboCharger charger can charge the battery by 20% for 15 minutes, and from a standard Nexus 6 device it charges fully in about 2 hours.

Opinion Hi-Tech.Mail.Ru


pros

Minuses

So far, very few devices running Android Lollipop are on the market. In this case, even the existing devices from the Nexus line have not yet received the corresponding update, despite the fact that the new version was released several weeks ago.

Alas, despite the presence of the latest OS, the prospects for the Nexus 6 are foggy. This is primarily due to the high price. Stay this smartphone in the price range of $ 300-350 with the current characteristics, it would be very popular. However, with an initial cost of $ 650, the smartphone will compete on equal terms with the flagship models from other manufacturers - without any advantages. In general, the device turned out to be interesting, balanced and powerful, although not without flaws.

Making forecasts for the Russian market today is even more difficult due to the unhealthy growth of the exchange rate. Taking into account the 10% tax on the purchase, the “net” cost of the Nexus 6 is about 38,000 rubles, which is quite incomparable with 13-15 thousand (when ordering from the USA) for Nexus smartphones in the recent past.

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/364291/

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